In a deal that underscores the shift toward cloud computing,
Cisco recently said that it had reached an agreement to acquire
ScanSafe, a privately-held provider of SaaS Web security for
businesses.
Cisco said the acquisition will cost USD 183 million in cash and
retention-based incentives.
Tom Gillis, VP and GM of Cisco's security technology business
unit, who arrived at Cisco via its 2007 acquisition of IronPort,
described the purchase as part of Cisco's effort "to build a
borderless network security architecture that combines network and
cloud-based services for advanced security enforcement."
The Web security market, which Cisco expects to grow to USD 2.3
billion by 2012, appears to be in the midst of consolidation.
Earlier this month, Barracuda Networks, a maker of security
hardware, acquired SaaS Web security provider Purewire for an
undisclosed sum.
In an e-mail, Jay Chaudhry, CEO of Zscaler, another SaaS Web
security company, characterized the acquisition as validation of
the SaaS model for Web security.
Cisco said it intends to combine its IronPort Web security
appliance with ScanSafe's Web security service to offer
on-premises, hosted, and hybrid-hosted Web security.
The company also expects to integrate ScanSafe's service with
Cisco's AnyConnect VPN Client to enhance security for mobile
workers.
The acquisition is Cisco's sixth this year and its first
security-related purchase since 2007. That year, in addition to
IronPort, Cisco purchased two other security-related companies:
BroadWare Technologies and Securent.
Cisco's last security buying binge occurred in 2004 and 2005,
when it acquired seven security-related companies.
Cisco said that it expects the deal to close in the second
quarter of Cisco's fiscal year 2010, which ends in January.